Why marketing may no longer matter

Social media has also provided customers with a voice, and while this
can be positive it can also create public relations nightmares. One only
has to look as far as the ‘United Breaks Guitars’ incident that wiped
10% off the company’s valuation within four days of the video being posted to understand how powerful social media can be.

While it is relatively easy to discuss such large incidents, it is
perhaps harder to quantify the power of third party information and
reviews. In 2012, Google introduced the concept of the ‘Zero Moment of
Truth’ that describes how the consumer’s research and decision-making
journey on the way to making a purchase has changed because of the
Internet.

For instance, Google has published research[1] that shows
that the average consumer tech shopper uses more than 14 sources of
online information to arrive at their final purchase decision – many of
them user reviews, comparison websites and retailer websites.

However, a recent study in Harvard Business Review[2],
shows that this behaviour hasn’t become ubiquitous – and buyer behaviour
very much depends on the type of products people are buying.

In the article, Simonson and Rosen state that buyer behaviour is typically affected by a combination of three things:1. Prior preferences, beliefs and experiences (P)2. Information from marketing (M)3. And input from other sources such as reviews (O

This influence mix is a zero-sum game: the greater reliance on one source of influence, the less need for the others.

While habitual purchases such as buying standard office supplies will
depend primarily on P, someone buying a new office chair is likely to
be persuaded by packaging, brand, and point of purchase messages – all
components of M.

As the importance of the objects being purchased increases (both in
personal and professional terms), the importance of O increases.

Online reviews are therefore becoming an increasingly important part
of the marketing mix for both consumer and b2b purchases. Some b2b
websites, such as SelectScience
are now providing the facility for people owning laboratory equipment
(in this example) to review products they own or use. What’s more they
even provide (for a fee) widgets that allow those reviews to appear on
your own website in an Amazon-like manner.

Of course, many b2b component purchases still involve samples and
development kits for the design-in process – another important component
of O. While samples and in-house testing may play a greater role in the
component selection process, reviews will still play an increasingly
important role in ensuring that prospects spend time validating the
performance of your solutions in the first place.

To find out more how Pinnacle can help you boost your influence
through online reviews, please download our reviews case study booklet.